New NI M Series Data Acquisition Board Lowers Connectivity Costs by 80 Percent

NEWS RELEASE - August 23, 2005 - Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and engineers interested in low-cost I/O connectivity and custom cabling now can take advantage of 80 percent lower connectivity costs with the new National Instruments PCI-6221 (37-Pin) multifunction data acquisition (DAQ) board. While the PCI-6221 (37-Pin) DAQ board includes the technologies featured on other low-cost M Series DAQ devices, including the NI-STC 2 system controller, the new board uses a 37-pin D-Sub connector for commercially available I/O connectivity. Because basic shielding connectivity solutions for 37-pin devices are now available at prices four to five times lower than 68-pin devices, engineers can take advantage of low-cost connectivity while integrating high-quality NI data acquisition boards.

OEMs face unique challenges such as needing to get products to market quickly and creating affordable applications for large deployment. The new PCI-6221 (37-Pin) DAQ board offers a cost-efficient solution because of its 37-pin D-Sub I/O connector and its compatibility with other standard D-Sub accessories, including low-cost direct mount terminal blocks such as the NI CB-37F-LP. The versatile measurement and control capabilities offered in the PCI-6221 (37-Pin) DAQ board also make it especially useful for machine builders, control systems, design verification and test.

The new PCI-6221 (37-Pin) DAQ board delivers the same analog input, analog output and counter/timer features as the existing NI PCI-6221 DAQ board but with a standard, low-cost connector. These features include 16 analog inputs at 16 bits and 250 kS/s, two analog outputs at 16 bits and 833 kS/s and two 32-bit counter/timers at 80 MHz. The PCI-6221 (37-Pin) also provides 10 bidirectional digital I/O lines - two of which are correlated at rates up to 1 MHz.

The PCI-6221 (37-Pin) DAQ board ships with the full suite of NI measurement services software, including tools and drivers for connecting virtual instrumentation software with NI measurement and control hardware. NI measurement services software, built around NI-DAQmx driver software, includes intuitive application programming interfaces, configuration tools, rapid I/O assistants and professional tools to help engineers reduce system setup and configuration time. NI data acquisition products also work with application software, including NI LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, SignalExpress and Measurement Studio for Visual Basic, C++ and .NET, and are supported on standard operating systems, including Linux, Mac OS X and Windows XP.

National Instruments DAQ
By integrating commercial PC-based technologies and investing in innovative research and development, NI continues to lower the cost of measurement and control while improving system performance, accuracy and reliability. NI M Series DAQ devices include options for high-speed needs (16-bit, 1.25 MS/s), high-accuracy needs (18-bit, 625 kS/s) and low-cost needs (16-bit, 250 kS/s). M Series features such as new NI-MCal technology and the NI-STC 2 system controller chip deliver more I/O, performance and value. For more information on M Series, readers can visit www.ni.com/daq/mseries.

About National Instruments
National Instruments (www.ni.com) is a technology pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation - a revolutionary concept that has changed the way engineers and scientists in industry, government and academia approach measurement and automation. Leveraging PCs and commercial technologies, virtual instrumentation increases productivity and lowers costs for test, control and design applications through easy-to-integrate software, such as NI LabVIEW, and modular measurement and control hardware for PXI, PCI, USB and Ethernet. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 3,500 employees and direct operations in nearly 40 countries. In 2004, the company sold products to more than 25,000 companies in 90 countries. For the past six years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America.

Pricing and Contact Information
NI PCI-6221 (37-Pin
Priced from $475
Web: http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/201761

Reader Contact: Ernest Martinez, (800) 258-7022 E-mail: info@ni.com

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